Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

"He's quite good-looking, but his personality is too boring, and he's a bit too mature for his age."

Bai Ruanqiu tilted her head and pondered carefully for a moment before revealing her true impression of Wu Fan.

"Ruan Qiu, if you were to marry him to the Bai family, would you be willing?"

Bai Ruanyu pursed her lips slightly.

"Sister Ruan Yu, what are you saying! You want me to become your Daoist partner with this boy? Wouldn't I be bored to death? Besides..."

Bai Ruanqiu's face flushed slightly, and she shook her head repeatedly, full of reluctance.

"Sister Ruan Yu, you wouldn't be thinking of sacrificing your lovely sister's lifelong happiness to win him over, would you?"

She seemed to suddenly realize something and started to act coquettishly towards Bai Ruanyu.

Bai Ruanyu did not deny it, and said solemnly, "Wu Fan's family background is indeed ordinary, but his alchemy skills are very promising. Look at him, he is so young and he has already refined high-quality pills. Given more time to grow, he will definitely become a first-grade high-quality alchemist, and it is not impossible for him to break through to the second-grade alchemist in the future. His future is limitless. For you, this is the best choice because you don't have to marry out of the family or choose a mediocre person from among the cultivators who marry into the family. Of course, for our lineage, it is also equivalent to having an extra future helper."

"But I don't feel anything for him at all!"

Bai Ruanqiu remained unwilling, muttering under her breath.

"You can try getting to know him first. If you still don't feel anything in the end, I won't force you."

Bai Ruanyu looked at her, her eyes slightly cold.

Bai Ruanqiu knew this was the bottom line, and refusing again would only anger her elder sister, so she could only nod and say, "I understand, Sister Ruanyu."

......

Inside the Baidantang villa.

Wu Fan took out twenty portions of the Qi Gathering Pill ingredients he had purchased from Bai Dan Tang.

Even with the discount, it still cost over eighty low-grade spirit stones.

This is almost enough to buy a mid-grade first-tier magic weapon.

No wonder that among the four arts of cultivating immortality, alchemy is the most profitable, but also requires the greatest investment.

Although he has some talent in alchemy and understands pills quickly, without the assistance of the Five Elements Beads, he would probably only be able to refine ordinary Qi-Inducing Pills at this moment, and would not be able to try Qi-Gathering Pills at all.

Wu Fan first adjusted the medicinal materials according to the formula, and then sat down to meditate and rest his mind.

Although the Qi Gathering Pill is only one grade higher than the Qi Induction Pill, belonging to the middle grade of the first rank, its refining complexity far exceeds that of the low grade of the first rank, the Qi Induction Pill.

He planned to mentally go through each step before actually making the product.

After a long while, Wu Fan slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them, already confident of success.

He then lit the furnace, controlled the fire and furnace temperature, and then put the Qi-gathering pill ingredients into the furnace.

Crimson magical power flowed like wisps of silk within and outside the alchemy furnace as he focused intently on perceiving every detail.

"Mixed liquid".

He used his magic to control the various medicinal liquids extracted at high temperatures in the furnace and bring them together.

This step is crucial in alchemy.

Different medicinal materials have different medicinal properties and potencies, and forcibly combining them can easily lead to incompatibility and failure in the refining process.

Although he had started researching the Qi Gathering Pill formula half a year ago and had simulated refining it countless times in his mind, simulation is not the same as actual practice, and variables are bound to occur during the process.

The condensation of various medicinal liquids at this moment is like forcing people with very different personalities to live together, which is very likely to cause conflict.

Wu Fan tried his best to make the medicinal liquid blend gently, but he found it very difficult.

He made a quick decision, his spiritual sense stirred, a white light flashed in his mind, and white runes appeared on his forehead that took shape faster than ever before.

He intends to use the original resonance of the Five Elements Beads to fuse with the medicinal liquid.

Sure enough, with the help of the runes, the medicinal liquid began to slowly fuse.

This was his first time refining a Qi Gathering Pill, and the successful fusion was already an excellent start. He simply didn't have the extra energy to remove impurities from the medicinal liquid, so he could only condense the pill directly as soon as the medicinal liquid was fused.

Unexpectedly, the pill-condensing process went surprisingly smoothly, and soon the aroma of medicine wafted from the furnace.

Wu Fan's face lit up with joy; he had actually succeeded in refining the Qi Gathering Pill on his first try!

He immediately cast the pill-retrieving spell, and two pills of different sizes flew into his hand.

"Although it has been made into a pill, it contains too many impurities, its medicinal effect is limited, and it contains a lot of toxicity. It probably cannot be considered a qualified pill."

Wu Fan was not entirely satisfied and planned to rest for a while, review the refining process, and then start the furnace again.

After opening the furnace three times in a row, he finally found the problem and figured out the key to adjusting the Qi Gathering Pill refining process.

He then meditated and regulated his breathing for several hours. By the time his energy returned to its peak, it was already afternoon.

This time, he lit the alchemy furnace again and began a new round of refining Qi Gathering Pills.

Two batches were refined in total. As expected, the second batch successfully produced a relatively qualified Qi Gathering Pill, with a quality that was very close to the level of ordinary pills sold by Bai Dan Tang.

However, Wu Fan did not continue to open the furnace.

Although he had broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining and his magical power and spiritual power had greatly improved, refining another batch of pills would not be difficult. However, refining pills consumed a great deal of spiritual power, leaving him exhausted each time. It was not a long-term solution.

After all, spiritual practice requires consideration of one's state of mind; if one forces oneself too much, it is easy to generate conflicting emotions.

This is why, after cultivating in the secluded courtyard for a long time, he would go out for a stroll, buy some food, or wait for Niu Dazhuang to come and chat with him for a day.

Humans are ultimately social creatures; spending too much time alone can inevitably lead to an imbalance and distortion of one's mental state.

Today, Wu Fan took out some pastries from his storage bag, cooked a bowl of spirit rice sent by his second uncle, and slowly enjoyed it in the courtyard under the moonlight, savoring this rare moment of relaxation.

After a good night's rest, Wu Fan's magical power and energy were fully restored by the next morning, and he then devoted himself to refining the Qi Gathering Pill.

He still refined five batches that day, but only one batch of pills was successfully made, and the quality still did not meet the standards for sale.

"What a pity."

Wu Fan sighed softly, "It took ten sets of Qi Gathering Pill materials, which comes to more than forty low-grade spirit stones."

Even though he now has income from refining high-quality Qi-inducing pills, such expenditure still makes him feel a bit of pain.

So on the third day, Wu Fan simply stopped refining pills.

He realized that he was too eager for quick results, which made it difficult for him to discover the subtle problems in the refining process.

Instead of forcing it, it's better to calm down and focus on cultivation, only studying alchemical methods and reflecting on gains and losses in your spare time.

Only when you have a peaceful mind can you see the key.

Urgent matters must ultimately be handled with caution.

After pausing alchemy for five days, Wu Fan restarted the furnace.

This time, only one batch of pills was successfully produced, but the quality of the pills has fully met the standards for sale, which can be considered a huge improvement.

Instead of striking while the iron was hot, he stopped again and continued to refine his mindset.

Three more days passed.

Wu Fan restarted the furnace and refined all the remaining materials for the Qi Gathering Pill.

This time, he successfully refined two batches of qualified pills, one batch yielding three pills and the other yielding two pills.

This means that he has initially mastered the method of refining Qi Gathering Pills and can be considered a mid-grade first-level alchemist.

There's no need to worry too much about the quality of the Spirit Gathering Pills anymore; the focus should be on increasing the pill formation rate.

Wu Fan carefully calculated: if he wanted to make a profit from Qi Gathering Pills, based on a minimum of two pills per batch, the success rate of pills needed to be at least 50% to break even, and only if it exceeded 50% could he make a profit.

In the coming days, alchemy will likely be a considerable expense. If he weren't currently able to refine high-quality Qi-Inducing Pills to support him, he might not have been able to withstand this drain.